Explosive offense pushes Flour Bluff to playoff win

Flour Bluff moves on to area round

Steve Nurenberg Special to the Caller-Times-Hornets Head Coach Darrell Andrus and QB Kolton Mims get ready for the game against Lake Travis at Heros Stadium Friday afternoon in San Antonio.

MISSION - There is no need to break out the "needed-a-game-like-this" clichés. Flour Bluff was fully aware of what it was getting into Thursday night in the opening game of the Class 4A Division I playoffs.

The Hornets got everything they expected, probably more. But upstart Mission Veterans Memorial, which had split two previous postseason meetings with the Hornets, had no answer for the Bluff's explosiveness on offense.

Five of the Bluff's scoring drives on a drizzly night at Tom Landry Stadium lasted three plays or fewer. The Patriots' ball-control attack ground down the Hornets defense, but wasn't able to keep pace as the Hornets improved to 11-0 with a 49-37 victory.

That sends Hornets into next week's Division I area game against either San Antonio Harlandale or Victoria East, which play Friday night in San Antonio. The area game likely will be played next Saturday at the Alamodome.

The Hornets are headed to the next round thanks to those quick strikes and they needed them because Memorial played nothing like the 6-4 ballclub it was coming into the game. The Patriots had 100 plays from scrimmage compared to 48 for the Bluff.

"We knew it was going to be like this coming into it, maybe not giving up quite as many points. But we knew it was going to be a hard-fought contest," Hornets coach Darrell Andrus said. "We've played these guys three times. Everybody says, 'You're going to blow these guys out, you're going to blow these guys out.' That's not how it works. I've been around long enough. You may get fortunate and do it if you get some turnovers. I think we got one tonight.

It should be noted that the Hornets did convert that one turnover into a touchdown, but that wasn't the story. It was the Bluff's big plays.

"We were able to have a lot of quick drives," said Bluff senior quarterback Kolton Mims, who threw four touchdown passes and rushed for two more scores. "We had three one-play drives. When you have those it's a game-changer and it sets the tone."

The Hornets put a seal on the victory with scores on their first two possessions of the second half. Tommy Martin busted free for a 69-yard TD on the first play from scrimmage in the third quarter and Mims scooted 66 yards on the third play of the Bluff's next possession to stake itself to a 49-24 lead. Mims finished with 141 rushing yards and 253 passing while Martin added 115 yards on seven carries.

Memorial sophomore quarterback Santos Villarreal was a pain in the Bluff's defense all night. He scored all five of the Patriots' TDs, including the final two in the fourth quarter that made the score semi-respectable. Villarreal rushed for 145 yards. Victor Meza chipped in with 94 as the Patriots totaled the most points and yards (526) allowed by the Bluff this season.

The Hornets, meanwhile, had 510 yards of offense, averaging 10.6 yards per play.

"And that hurt our defense, too. People don't think about that but when you score quick like that and you've got your defense out there for 30-something snaps to maybe our 15 or 20, you score quick you've got a tired defense when you do that," Andrus said. "I love the (offensive) explosion but our defense is going to have to be prepared to respond when we score quick."

If there was a moment that should have swung the momentum permanently it came midway through the second quarter after the Patriots had taken a 17-14 lead on Jorge Cavazos' 32-yard field goal. But the Bluff scored 15 points in an eight-second span to forge ahead 29-17.

Following Cavazos' field goal, a short kickoff set up the Hornets at their 48. Again, it didn't take long for the Bluff but it took a fourth-and-10 play from the Patriots' 38. Mims hit Reggie Garza on a simple screen pass that he turned into a 38-yard touchdown play. Kevin Reid's PAT kick gave the Hornets their first lead at 21-17.

Reid's ensuing kickoff scooted through Petie Ayala's upraised hands and Garza recovered at the 7. On the next play, Mims found Andrew Dilworth for the second time in the corner of the end zone. Mims' 2-point pass to Kevin Dewitt gave the Hornets a 12-point lead.

The Hornets finally put the clamps on Villarreal, with Keith Wilkinson and Bryston Schaefer teaming to sack him for an 8-yard loss. But Cavazos got off a 60-yard punt, pinning the Bluff at its 15.

Even that mattered not to the Hornets, who also benefited from a key Memorial pass-interference penalty. Mims kept the ball seven plays into the drive, heading to his right and then cutting left for a 52-yard TD run with 2:59 to play in the half. The 2-point pass failed, leaving the Hornets with a 35-17 lead.

The Patriots and Villarreal proved elusive again. Memorial fashioned a 72-yard drive, aided by Villarreal's 28-yard pass to Isaac Guerrero and a dead-ball personal foul penalty on the Hornets to move deep into Bluff territory. Six plays later, Villarreal was able to dive over a pile from the 1 and Cavazos' PAT kick pulled the Patriots within 35-24 at the break.